Living Systems Institute

Working closely with BAM Construction, Taunton Fabrications was responsible for the manufacture and installation of several feature staircases at the newly opened Living Systems Institute (LSI) at Exeter University.

About the Project

Working closely with BAM Construction, Taunton Fabrications was responsible for the manufacture and installation of several feature staircases at the newly opened Living Systems Institute (LSI) at Exeter University.

The stairs were particularly challenging with a central "twisting" spine effect and up to 14m in length. Flat bar (FMS) mild steel, powder coated balustrade panels with an offset stainless steel handrail was predominently used. As well as a number of feature stairs, Taunton Fabrications was also responsible for the supply of cabin support steels at the start of the works.

The LSI consists of two linked buildings on a split level site, with a tower block nine storeys high and a slab block reaching six storeys, three storeys being basement levels with significant excavations and temporary works. BAM faced a number of challenges, building on a steeply sloping site constrained by other buildings and environmentally-sensitive considerations.